Prospects Of The Week
Zam Plante Continues Breakout Sophomore Season At Minnesota-Duluth
Zam Plante continued a breakout 2025-26 NCAA season with three points in a pair of wins for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs against Lindenwood over the weekend. The 2022 fifth round pick scored and added a primary assist in a 6-3 win on Friday and scored again in an 8-4 win on Saturday. Plante ranks second on Minnesota-Duluth with nine goals and 28 points in 22 games after recording 20 points in 33 games last season as a freshman.
Over the holidays, Plante recorded a pair of assists in four games with the U.S. Collegiate Selects team at the Spengler Cup as the team advanced to the championship game but lost to HC Davos, the top team in the Swiss National League.
Emil Pieniniemi Scores First Professional Goal With Wheeling
Emil Pieniniemi scored for the first time at the professional level in North America with a goal to give the Wheeling Nailers a 5-0 lead in a 5-0 win over the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Saturday. The 2023 third round pick debuted for Wheeling on New Year’s Eve after essentially sitting out the first half of the 2025-26 season, initially refusing to report to the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pieniniemi scored again in a 3-2 win over the Lions the next afternoon and now carries two goals in six ECHL games.
The Finnish blueliner finished fourth overall on the Kingston Frontenacs and sixth among defensemen in the OHL last season with 50 points in 60 games and led blueliners on Finland with three points in six games in a Silver Medal finish at the 2025 World Junior Championship. Pieniniemi hopes the goals in back-to-back games helps lead to consistent production in the ECHL and ultimately a call up opportunity to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Tristan Broz Explodes For Four Points In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Win
Tristan Broz powered the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 5-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night with a goal and four points after going three games without a point. Broz opened the scoring for the Penguins, recorded primary assists on the third and fourth Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals, and chipped in a secondary helper on the fifth goal. The four points helped the 2021 second round pick take the team lead with 11 goals and 24 points in 32 games.
Broz ranked eighth on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season with 37 points in 59 games as a rookie in the AHL, a 0.63 point-per-game average, and currently boasts a 0.75 point-per-game average in the 2025-26 season.
Down On The Farm
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Split Weekend Against Charlotte
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins bounced back after a bad week with a 5-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night. Tristan Broz led the scoring with a goal and three assists. Valtteri Puustinen and Atley Calvert both scored and added helpers. Boko Imama and Gabe Klassen scored the other Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goals. Matt Dumba, Ryan Graves, and Owen Pickering all picked up assists. Sergei Murashov stopped 21 of 22 shots in the win.
The Penguins stumbled on Saturday in a 5-1 loss to the Checkers. Ryan Graves scored the lone Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal off Puustinen and Ville Koivunen assists. Joel Blomqvist surrendered four goals on 24 shots in the loss.
Wheeling Nailers Sweep Trois-Rivieres In Three-Game Set
The Wheeling Nailers trailed 3-2 headed into the third period against the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Friday night and scored two in a 4-3 win. Tanner Andrew scored and added a helper. Tommy Budnick, Craig Armstrong, and Brent Johnson scored the other Wheeling goals. Matthew Quercia recorded a pair of assists. Connor Lockhart, Aidan Sutter, Randy Hernandez, and Ryan Mashie all finished with helpers. Taylor Gauthier stopped 24 of 27 shots in the win.
Despite being outshot 26-19, the Nailers won 5-0 over the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Saturday night. Lockhart scored and recorded two assists. Logan Pietila scored and added a helper. Johnson, Cole Tymkin, and Emil Pieniniemi scored the other Wheeling goals. Hernandez recorded a pair of assists, and Budnick, Mathieu De St. Phalle, and Quercia all picked up helpers. Maxim Pavlenko stopped 26 shots in the shutout win.
The Nailers completed the sweep of the Lions with a 4-2 win on Sunday. Armstrong scored twice. Hernandez scored and added a helper. Pieniniemi scored the other Wheeling goal. Brent Johnson recorded a pair of assists, and De St. Phalle, Bogdans Hodass, and Pietila all finished with helpers. Gauthier stopped 26 of 28 shots in the win.